Attack on Rafah will not only affect region but whole world: Türkiye

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye on Tuesday said an attack on Rafah would not only affect the region but the whole world, urging Israel to “immediately withdraw” from the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing.

“The status quo in Rafah and at the border crossing must be restored without further delay,” Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said on X.

After Hamas agreed to the cease-fire proposal in Gaza, Israel’s attack on Rafah shows the Netanyahu government is not acting in “good faith”, he added.

“Amid such a positive development towards ending the destruction and massacre in Gaza, Israel's increased attacks on Rafah have once again shown that the Netanyahu government is not acting in good faith,” said Keceli.

Israel has taken “operational control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossings,” after advancing during the night as their warplanes pounded residential homes.

On Monday, Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for Palestinians in eastern Rafah, a move widely seen as a prelude to Israel's long-feared attack on the city, home to some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

Nearly 34,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip since last October, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Israel also stands accused of genocide in an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice.

An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.